hair tonics for thinning hair?

[FireDragon76]

I finally got hold of some Superior 70 today. I tried it as an aftershave and it has a medicinal feel to it, similar to clove oil, in that it feels slightly numbing. But maybe a little irritating too. On my scalp it feels tingly but not quite as tingly as menthol or rosemary water. There isn't any real alcohol burn, although I'm sure it has some alcohol in it. I notice some mild irritation on my hands until I washed them off. It definitely is the real deal as the scent is much more complex.

 

[FireDragon76]

I looked in the mirror at my hairline today, really giving it a close look for the first time in about two weeks. It seems maybe there are a few new hairs growing in on my temples. They are very thin, and most don't seem to be very long. I've been shampooing my hair a bit more often for the past month than I did in the past, and went back to using rosemary mint shampoo (I was using bar soap about every week before that). I've been using hair tonic twice a day, every day for the past two weeks, but only recently got hold of Superior 70 Bay Rum, which I have started using a few times a day in small amounts.

I tried rosemary water a month ago but I think the straight stuff is far too irritating, so I made up a mixture of rosemary, cedar, and lavender oil, with a little less cedar than the other ingredients. A similar combination was used in a Scottish study of alopecia areata with success. Unfortunately I don't have thyme oil on hand, so I substituted basil and sage. The Scottish study dissolved the oils into a massage oil, but I'm using perfurmer's alcohol, so the exact concentration I have to guess at, but they were using about 8-10 drops of essential oil per ounce of massage oil. I'm using just enough I can feel some tingle for an hour or so and smell the herbs but not so much it's irritating.

If I don't see sustained results with the saw palmetto and the hair tonics I'm going to look into getting Proscar and cutting them up into quarters.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

A similar combination was used in a Scottish study of alopecia areata with success....If I don't see sustained results with the saw palmetto and the hair tonics I'm going to look into getting Proscar and cutting them up into quarters.

Are you thinking your condition might be alopecia areata, rather than androgenetic alopecia? If so, why consider finasteride, since it only works on the latter?

 

[FireDragon76]

Are you thinking your condition might be alopecia areata, rather than androgenetic alopecia? If so, why consider finasteride, since it only works on the latter?

No... I think its just an average maturing male hairline, combined with less than ideal nutrition. I have gluten and casein intolerance and irritable bowel and the past few years my diet has been determined more by what I can tolerate rather than what is healthy. Some days onion still give me severe stomach pain and bloating.

I'll report back in a few weeks about how my hair is doing.

I think its more like I am chasing the fountain of youth rather than treating something a doctor would see as a medical condition. My doctor has very obvious frontal thinning and hairline recession (which doesn't seem to bother him too much, he doesn't have a buzz cut, just a short-ish haircut), and given that he's reluctant to hand out perscriptions, I don't think he'ld think I was a good candidate for finasteride.

 

[heyman]

I'm not quite at the stage I would want to buzz my hair off- I don't look like I'm balding per se. But my hair doesn't look as full as it used to.

I'll look into Grecian Formula... it's a brand I haven't often seen in stores, but I have heard of it.

Just acquired Toppik Hair fiber powder. It works wonders for those of us who are thinning, and provides a real pronounced look of fullness.

 

[coloradomonkey]

As far as greying goes, embrace it. There has not yet been a dye/product invented that doesn't make everyone else think "that guy dyes his hair"

+1

Whenever I see a man with dyed hair, my first thought is, "what else is he lying about?"

 

[santamariasteve]

Hair tonics do not prevent or retard baldness. Period.

 

[FireDragon76]

So far my regimen seems to be doing OK. It seems like the hair roots are getting thicker and my hair is growing fast and looking better. I'm using saw palmetto pills (about 320mg/day) and Superior 70 Bay Rum 2-3 times a day. Sometimes I like the smell of Eau de Quinine, or my home-made tonic made from cedar and rosemary. I'm also making sure to eat some broccoli or cabbage every day, and less meat, and get a serving of soy every day.

 

[pwill112]

Propecia for sure. You can try Rogaine as well. That's the closest thing to a tonic

 

[FireDragon76]

I thought I would update this. I am noticing thicker hair after several months just using saw palmetto and bay rum, but I believe propecia would probably work better. I haven't noticed any side effects from taking saw palmetto.

 

[RxShave]

Seek out a ketoconazole 2% shampoo - it is called "Nizorol" in Canada - some stores may have generic brands. It is a topical product for dandruff/seborrhea but by the nature of the drug it is naturally anti-androgenic... meaning it blocks testosterone but is only used topically vs systemically. Minimal absorption, no noted side-effects except thick and heavy hair. Use daily for a few months, then down to 2-4 times per week. Do not follow with a shampoo except maybe once every few weeks for scalp moisturizing (try to use tea-tree based if possible as they wash away cleaner and leave no residue). You can all thank me later.

 

[FireDragon76]

Seek out a ketoconazole 2% shampoo - it is called "Nizorol" in Canada - some stores may have generic brands. It is a topical product for dandruff/seborrhea but by the nature of the drug it is naturally anti-androgenic... meaning it blocks testosterone but is only used topically vs systemically. Minimal absorption, no noted side-effects except thick and heavy hair. Use daily for a few months, then down to 2-4 times per week. Do not follow with a shampoo except maybe once every few weeks for scalp moisturizing (try to use tea-tree based if possible as they wash away cleaner and leave no residue). You can all thank me later.

A bit late but thanks for the tip, I will definitely try it.

I've been using Thicker Fuller Hair as my shampoo. I only shampoo a few times a week . Otherwise I use hair tonics. I found a new Tea Tree based hair tonic also, that's suppossed to block DHT. But something that's been clinically proven as an anti-androgen would be preferable to using an herbal shampoo that may or may not work. Frankly, I got better results with a simple Rosemary Mint shampoo, used daily, than I did with TFH.

For a while I let my hair regimen go somewhat and hair thinning resumed (my brother has more pronounced hair thinning). But this time I'm getting more serious about working on the solution. I remember when I was younger I was a vegetarian and I had zero hair loss throughout my 20's, with very healthy hair, and I've been doing research that suggests that a diet with more polyphenols (particularly soy) and less meat might be helpful. So I'm going to try that as well. Also, I've made other changes in my life that might make it easier to stick with a healthier lifestyle.

 

[BrushJockey]

Take a shaver to your head, and buzz it all off. Thats what I did more than 20 years ago, and Ive never looked back. It's cool in hot weather, you don't have to dink around with styling, you save money on haircuts, your shampoo is your bar soap, it's easy to take care of your scalp, and nobody can tell if you are graying or balding. Then you grow a goatee, and you dont' have to worry about ATG passes on your upper lip, and you can look bada$$ at the same time. Problem solved.

And look like a cliche

 

[FireDragon76]

And look like a cliche

Not to mention, if the hair loss is not very aggressive... it's an extreme response.

 

[FireDragon76]

I use hair tonic every day. Haven't noticed any changes to my hair. But my hair was pretty thick to begin with. If you're looking for something to stimulate your scalp, Osage Rub is awesome! Superior 70 is a great bay rum and one of my favorites. Superior 70 also has a mentholated version which is nice and tingly as well.

It sounds more like folk medicine but menthol apparently works better than minoxidil in animal models of hair loss.

Peppermint Oil Promotes Hair Growth without Toxic Signs

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is a plant native to Europe and has been widely used as a carminative and gastric stimulant worldwide. This plant also has been used in cosmetic formulations as a fragrance component and skin conditioning agent. This study ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I usually add some menthol to my shampoo if it doesn't have some already. Suave's rosemary mint shampoo is also decent and inexpensive, unfortunately it's also harder to find. When I used it years ago (I had long hair), my hair grew faster. Now I'm using Thicker, Fuller Hair and it's working OK, but it doesn't have any mint so I add some.

 

[FireDragon76]

I just got some Yanagiya hair tonic today. It comes as a medium-large glass bottle in a box. On the bottle it says "Menthol Rich":

It has several Asian herbs in it, such as ginseng, as well as some castor oil, and is meant to stimulate circulation in the scalp. The aroma is mildly earthy and spicy, like vetiver, and smells more medicinal - my guess is people do not use it primarily for the fragrance. It leaves my scalp with a pleasant tingling sensation after I work it in. It doesn't seem to leave my hair greasy at all in the small quantity I used.